Article highlights lack of CCG funding for therapy in BSL (BSL)

October 20, 2015

Obstacles faced by BSL Healthy Minds when negotiating with Clinical Commissioning Groups is affecting deaf access to psychological therapies, according to an article by Celia Hulme. Celia, Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associate, University of Central Lancashire and BSL HealthyMinds, was writing in the British Journal of Healthcare Management.

Deaf people with mental health problems are denied the chance to have psychological therapy in British Sign Language due to lack of funding from some CCGs. The article says that says that equal access to mental health services is failing to influence funding decisions.

SignHealth’s BSL Healthy Minds was set up to address a gap in primary mental health services for deaf people. Deaf users are often less able to benefit from mainstream services due to communication difficulties and because providers don’t understand deaf culture.

Deaf people with mental health problems are being denied the chance to have psychological therapy in BSL due to lack of funding from some CCGs

SignHealth’s BSL HealthyMinds provides a ‘cultural and linguistic appropriate service that produces high clinical outcomes’. Recovery rates are 75% compared to the national average of 44%. Yet CCG’s continue to refer Deaf people to generic services with a BSL interpreter despite the call from Deaf people for therapists who are culturally deaf BSL users.BSL Healthy Minds is not designated a ‘specialist service’ by NHS England as the numbers of referrals are too high to be considered specialist and too low for CCGs to consider commissioning.

Now, in response to Celia Hulmes’s research, SignHealth is launching a campaign challenging CCGs to make equal and appropriate access to psychological therapies easier for deaf people.

Commenting, Celia said:

‘I am pleased to see that the article has been published and it has come at the most opportune time to support the upcoming campaign to improve access to psychological therapies. I hope that the CCGs take notice of the recommendations.’